Secret, strange places on Google Earth

Don't look at this! From Earth's strangest places to those secret sites governments don't want you to see, Google's maps reveal plenty of oddities and hidden wonders from the sky. Here, we present just some of the secret and bizarre places revealed with Google's satellites. By QMI Agency

Area 51 is the ultimate restricted area. Located in the Nevada desert, this base is part of many UFO and government conspiracy theories. (Google)

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Albertans are very familiar with The Badlands Guardian - a natural geological formation that looks like a head, complete with iPod headphones. (Google)

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San Quentin State Prison is the oldest prison in California. This is where the state's death row is located, as well as a gas chamber that is now only used for lethal injections. (Google)

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The Richat Structure, or Eye of Africa, has attracted attention from the earliest space missions because of its unique appearance. At first the structure was thought to be a meteor bed, but is now known as a symmetrical uplift laid bare by erosion. (Google)

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A puzzling hexagram in Nevada, United States. (Google)

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The Forbidden City, China's former imperial palace, was once off-limits to commoners, but never to Google's satellite imagery. (Google)

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Can you spot the Loch Ness monster in Scotland's Loch Ness? (Google)

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The infamous Cerne Abbas giant in the United Kingdom is carved out of bedrock chalk. Some believe it was created as early as the 2nd century. (Google)

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Stonehenge looks even more mysterious from the sky. What could the builders of this circular structure have been trying to accomplish? (Google)

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Mecca is Islam's holiest city and located in Saudi Arabia. Non-Muslims aren't allowed into the city, but anyone can view Mecca by using Google Earth. (Google)

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Do these US Navy barracks on Coronado Island, San Diego remind you a bit of a swastika? Seems others think the same thing; the Navy was forced to spend $600,000 to renovate the base. (Google)

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The landscape in this part of Russia looks like it's from another planet! (Google)

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This sunken vessel in the River Clyde, United Kingdom looks like a real ghost ship. (Google)

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Finally - proof that aliens do exist! Google Maps and Google Earth are the perfect tools to use when hunting for crop circles. (Google)

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Some say the rock formation on the side of this Peruvian mountain looks like the face of Jesus of Nazareth. (Google)

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Using satellites, anyone can see some of the various rides at Michael Jackson's former home Neverland Ranch. (Google)

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What's being grown on this farm in Sânleani, Romania? (Google)

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Is this large triangle, spotted in Cervantes, Australia, a UFO caught by satellite? (Google)

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Davis-Monthan Air Force Base, located in Arizona, is known as an 'airplane graveyard,' as many obsolete planes are preserved and stored at this base. (Google)

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After the September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks on New York City, Ground Zero looked like this. (Google)

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This monkey is one of the hundreds of figurines in the Nazca Lines (geoglyphs), Peru. Scientists aren't completely sure why people created the drawings, but it's generally thought they are related to religious beliefs. (Google)

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A mysterious pixelated area of Amsterdam, Netherlands. (Google)

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This beach in Devon, United Kingdom, has been obscured for some reason. Think it was clothing optional? (Google)

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Nessie? Nope, it's just a large serpent sculpture in Amiens, France. (Google)

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You've heard of the Red Sea, but what's up with this blood red lake in Iraq? (Google)

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These mysterious green circles are located just miles from Area 51. They are actually ordinary crops planted by pivot irrigation. (Google)

This desert site in Oak Springs, United States is likely a military bomb test site. That, or a huge game of X's and O's. (Google)

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This bizarre giant rubber stamp in Cleveland, Ohio, was designed by Claes Oldenburg and Coosje Van Bruggen. The sculpture is on its side, and has the word "free" on the bottom. (Google)

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Camp David in Maryland, a vacation spot for the U.S. president, is one of the most heavily guarded spots on Earth, except for Google's satellites. (Google)

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There's always parking available when your car can scale walls, as is the case in Westenbergstraat, Netherlands. (Google)

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These hippos are having the time of their lives bathing in mud in Africa. (Google)

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Is this a simple light flare or an angel above Spain? (Google)

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China may be restricting the travel of tourists to Tibet, but you can still see the region by Google Earth. (Google)

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Palm Jumeirah is one of the three planned tree-shaped islands in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The artificial islands will have a large number of residential, leisure and entertainment centres. (Google)

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Another strange picture from the Netherlands. This bright spot in Hilversum could be the portal to a different dimension - or just a glitch. (Google)

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Did this ship's captain forget where to dock? This may look bizarre, but it's just a shopping centre in Hung Hom, Hong Kong. (Google)

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Despite having just one wing, this airplane seems to be having little trouble landing at Amsterdam's Schipol airport. (Google)

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Woomera Prohibited Area, in southern Australia, is a weapons testing range and the largest land based defence and aerospace range in the world. (Google)

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This one plane flying over Caps, United States is fortunate enough to have three shadows. (Google)

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Guantanamo Bay detention camp is located near Guantanamo Bay in Cuba. The prisoners held here have been classified as "enemy combatants" by the U.S. government. (Google)

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Places like Congo, Iraq (shown), Myanmar, Colombia and Somalia don't always make for the safest tourist destinations, but travellers can explore these war torn countries from the safety of their computer chair. (Google)

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Baby Beluga ... or is it just a ship swimming in the deep blue sea by Big Pine, United States? (Google)

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These fields in Berea, United States look like a funky tapestry, but are actually ordinary crops planted by pivot irrigation. (Google)

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This 200 foot long bunny in Prata Nevoso, Italy, was built by a group of artists. (Google)

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This hotel-liner was blown over in the South Korean port of Busan when it was hammered by the 135 mph winds of Typhoon Maemi in 2003. (Google/GeekAbout.com)

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Many areas of India are restricted to tourists without special permits and, in some cases, escorts. These include the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, which you can enjoy, sans permits, on Google Earth. (Google)

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This crater on Runit Island, Enewetak Atol, was made by U.S. government in the '70s to bury contaminated soil created by nuclear testing in the region. (Google)